So, evidently sitting around in a hospital is actually a really good environment for writing. My grandmother has passed, may she rest in peace. However, that has led to a whole bunch of family events this week that I had not thought of. So while I was able to defy my expectations and put out a chapter this week, there will for sure not be a chapter this week... probably. I don't know. But don't expect one this week, that's what I'm trying to say.

On a happier note, Volume 7 has finished and it was awesome! At the moment, my personal favorite Volume.

If you wish to support me and my college tuition, please check out my P a treon for future chapter summaries, story ideas and more: p a Treon.(c om) (backslash) themaster4444

Beta-ed by xenosaiyan

"Breaking News! Schnee Manor Bombed! SDC CEO and wife murdered! General Ironwood in critical condition!"

"Just hours ago, Atlas was rocked when Schnee Manor was completely destroyed by a bomb. Among confirmed casualties are Schnee Dust Company CEO and controversial tycoon Jacques Schnee, as well as his wife of twenty-two years Willow Schnee and family butler Klein Sieben. General James Ironwood, who was reportedly there to discuss tomorrow's dust embargo vote, was also caught in the blast. He was recovered from the rubble and rushed to Nicholas Schnee Memorial Hospital, where he remains in critical condition."

"Yet, as stunning as this tragedy was, a far more shocking revelation came in the aftermath. Whitley Schnee, youngest child of the late Jacques and Willow, bravely rushing into the ruins to search for survivors. However, he was attacked and stabbed, in full view of Council Chairwoman Rosenflos and her security detail. Mr. Schnee was also rushed to Nicholas Memorial, where he has yet to regain consciousness."

"The most appalling revelation of all was that Mr. Schnee's attacker was none other than his sister, the darling starlet of Atlas, Weiss Schnee! Ms. Schnee was immediately arrested by Madam Rosenflos' security detail and is in council custody. Whether she was involved in the bombing is currently being investigated. We bring you now to our military expert, ex-Specialist Commander Charles Obsidian. Mr. Obsidian, thank you for joining us."

"Pleasure to be here, Tom, though I wish it were under better circumstances."

"Indeed. Why do think Ms. Schnee would commit such a heinous crime, Mr. Obsidian. Just days ago, she became the hero of the kingdom when she stopped a White Fang attack on the SDC surplus compound and killed Adam Taurus himself."

"It is interesting you bring up that incident, Tom, because something about that night has been peaking at the back of my mind for days now. Why was she there? She wasn't a licensed huntress. She held no position at the SDC. How did she end up there right as the Blood-Soaked Bull came storming in?"

"You aren't suggesting that Ms. Schnee was working with Taurus, are you?"

"No, not Taurus. She did do us the favor of putting down that rabid animal. But he and Sienna Khan have been on the outs since the Fall of Beacon. And say what you will of Khan's activities, the tiger is smart. If she wanted to dispose of a problematic rival without losing support, how better than to have him publicly humiliated by a girl who never even graduated from Beacon?"

"Interesting theory. Though some would say it's merely conspiracy. Do you have any proof of this?"

"No. I will leave the burden of proof to the official investigation. All I can say is that being found next to a secret tunnel of the manor grounds, stabbing her brother, and having an association with a known White Fang operative, it does not look good for the young Ms. Schnee."

"A known White Fang operative?"

"Indeed, Tom. A young girl named Blake Belladonna…"

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'What have you done, Arthur?! I had the situation well in hand!'

"Forgive me, ma'am, but you did not. For all your wonderful qualities, you have a bad habit of sentimentality. You were unable to get the Schnee girl to come to you and we were out time."

'So you kill Klein when I had him well in hand and hijack my failsafe!? Do you know what I had to have Weiss do to Whitley to compensate for your recklessness?"

"I have seen the news, yes. And it only proves my point. You care for children far too much and we could stall no longer. Recall it was you who said that the embargo vote was our golden opportunity."

'… very well, Arthur. But no more deviations. We do this exactly according to plan. It's the only way we might be able to salvage Weiss' reputation.'

"Have no fear ma'am. The masses are fickle creatures. A week ago, she was a socialite, then a hero, and now a terrorist. Turning her back into a victim and then a hero once more will be child's play."

'You better be right, for your sake. The Queen will not be pleased by such a blunder.'

"No, I suppose she won't. With any luck, the rest of your plan will make up for it."

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Dr. Eir shook his head as the tv prattled on. He had half a mind to have them all shut off throughout the hospital. So much negative dribble wasn't good for the patients.

Sure, he could understand some of it, what had happened was a tragedy and if the Schnee girl was behind everything like they were supposing, she would get what was coming to her. But some of those tabloid bastards had the gall to say General Ironwood deserved what he got, that this was some sort of divine karma for the dust embargo and closing the borders. They were certainly in the minority, speaking so blatantly ill of an attacked public official was never in good taste but it made the doctor's blood boil.

He'd served in the Atlesian military, done time as field medic on an escort convoy guarding a shipment bound for Argus. He still remembered the terror that had run through him when a gargantuan Leviathan had emerged from the depths of the ocean, ready to capsize every last ship. And he still remembered when the general had gotten on a gunship and single-handedly drawn the monster's attention until the Argus Colossus could arrive and put the Grimm down for good. There was no glory in it, no reward. He could have ordered any of them to do it, and they would have had to obey. But the general put the mission before himself and saved all their lives.

The kingdom had suffered because of the embargo, Mantle especially. But Dr. Eir had no doubt that James Ironwood was not a tyrant. What he did, he did because he believed it was the right thing for everyone.

Which was why Eir had spent all night laboring over the general's broken form. His aura had absorbed a good chunk of the bomb blast, he wasn't burnt to a charred husk like the poor Schnees, but he was laid out on a bed in their best room, dozens of tubes and cables sticking out of his chest. At his left, a heart monitor beat a weak, flickering pulse.

It came as no great surprise to Eir when it flatlined. He did his best to resuscitate the general, but each spark of the defibrillator received no response.

"Call it," he sighed to his nurse. "Time of death, seven twenty-eight AM."

That was it. They had done all they could, and a great man had passed.

Which made it all the more befuddling when the nurses he'd assigned to remove the body had reported that there had been no corpse to remove.

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"Winter, for the last time, no!"

"Madam Chairwoman, please," Winter protested. "She's my sister! I know her! She wouldn't do something like this!"

Esper sighed. She shuffled a series of papers off to the side of her desk and rose from her seat. "Look, from what you've told me and what I've seen of her in action, she isn't dumb enough to stab Whitley in plain view of myself and my security detail. I am well aware that something must be going on here."

"Then why won't you let me see her?!" Winter demanded, slamming her palms on the desk. "If you would just let me see her then—"

"The legal case would be irreparably marred by allowing the sibling of the accused, daughter of two of the dead, and subordinate to a third, to in any way be involved in the investigation," Esper pointed out, rubbing circles in her temples. "Not that figuring out who can be involved is any easier. This is a matter of national security, so the police are out of their depth. Weiss is your sister, and Whitley was my assistant, so I can't assign it to the Specialists or motion for a council task force."

"So you'll leave her fate in the hands of Atlas Intelligence?!" Winter screeched. "You've seen the media! Someone's been slipping them information they shouldn't have, and you know it's COMMAND ESR!"

"I know!" Esper shouted. Winter staggered back. It wasn't often that her mentor raised her voice.

Even still, it did not last. The golden-eyed woman's face fell into her palm. "I'm sorry, Winter. The rest of the council has pushed to hold the embargo vote despite what happened, and with James gone…"

"It's sure to pass," Winter finished. Which meant that the Amity Tower project was in danger of being exposed. Whoever became general next would have full access to Ironwood's files and none of his knowledge of Salem.

Esper nodded. "Under different circumstances, I would consider that a victory. But that's not an excuse, especially since you… well… how are you holding up?"

Winter glanced to the side, suddenly feeling like that little girl who didn't understand why her grandfather had to be buried when he hadn't met her little sister yet. Except back then, she'd had her mother to hold her hand.

She'd known her mother when Willow Schnee was the most radiant and beautiful woman Atlas had ever seen, the daughter of Nicholas Schnee, a jolly man who could practically do no wrong. And she'd had to watch as decades under Jacques' thumb had worn her down into the alcoholic mess who'd hidden herself in the gardens more often than not.

Now, she wasn't hiding. She was just… gone. And Winter never got to say goodbye.

But… but, she didn't have time to mourn. Someone had tried to kill her brother and framed her sister for terrorism and murder. She was the big sibling. She'd had varying degrees of success in that role over the course of her life, but she would not fail them now.

"I'm managing. My duty comes first."

Esper shot her a sympathetic smile. "You're not a machine, Winter."

"I also can't leave my siblings to the wolves," the Specialist Commander declared. "I saw the report Intelligence filed. There was no mention of any missing dust."

Esper picked up a pair of papers. "And yet, each news station seems to be getting the SDC report that says there was."

Winter was about to respond that such a thing just made it even more obvious that Intelligence was involved, but she stopped when her eyes noticed another set of papers on the desk with a pair of distinctive signatures on it.

"A motion for emergency powers?" she muttered, snatching up the document. "The council has already signed it except for General Ironwood and…" she glanced up at the other woman, "…you."

Esper looked away, flush with shame.

"Why?" Winter asked. "If you had emergency powers you could… you could do anything. You could drop the case against Weiss, bring COMMAND to account—"

"I will not use this crisis as an excuse to grab power."

"They are emergency powers! They are meant to be used in an emergency!" Winter protested, smacking the paper. "You've been handed a gun at Intelligence's head and you won't load it."

Esper was about to respond when her scroll suddenly buzzed. She tugged it out and frowned at what she saw. "Because if I gained the power of a dictator, it would be all too easy for COMMAND ESR to paint me as a tyrant to the public."

She handed the scroll to Winter and the specialist immediately paled, a video of Weiss towering over their father in his office, a black ice sword in her hand.

"… you have one week to transfer your ownership and shares in my family's company to me and get out of this house," Weiss demanded. "Otherwise, it won't end well for you."

"You… you dare attempt to blackmail me?"

"Now, father, I believe we already established that I was threatening you."

Winter felt her hopes plummet from the city in the sky. "Who sent this?"

Esper retrieved her phone. "The sender is blocked but given that they sent two versions of the video and one contains liberal mention of the events of Godmother's Haven, I assume the obvious."

"Where did Intelligence even get this?" Winter moaned. "What even is this?"

"Your mother's failsafe."

"What?"

Esper sighed. "Willow installed cameras around the mansion in order to keep track of your father's movements, to help keep out of the way when he was being particularly… him. I helped her acquire the Intelligence technology to make sure Jacques wouldn't spot them and set up an offsite server to store the video just in case. COMMAND ESR must have been following my movements closer than I thought."

"And she can edit them however she likes to keep the kingdom's secrets and paint Weiss in the worst light possible," Winter growled, clenching her hands into fists.

"COMMAND ESR excels at manipulating perception," Esper noted. "Which is why we can leave her no openings. I am fully within my rights to divulge Weiss' association with Intelligence to the rest of the council. After we end this embargo, we can keep them from monopolizing the investigation. We will make sure you are promoted to general, expose their deceptions, and discover exactly how they made Weiss stab Whitley."

A knock on the door halted any further conversation. Whitley's substitute, a nervous boy of average face, called through the office door. The council meeting was about to begin.

Esper gathered up her papers and bid Winter goodbye, a sentiment the Specialist Commander found she couldn't return with much sincerity.

Her mentor was being helpful, but far too cautious in some ways and not nearly cautious enough ways she didn't know to be. She thought this was a matter of a corrupt government assassin launching a nationalist takeover. She had no idea of the mystical forces at work.

And they were at work. She didn't know how exactly Salem was involved in this mess, but she had been behind Cinder and Cinder had coerced Adam at Beacon. It was possible that Sienna Khan had just sent the Blood-Soaked Bull on a suicide mission, but when Intelligence had so effortlessly maneuvered their plans around his actions and plotted the break-in at Polendina Labs, she doubted it. And only some sort of magic could have made Weiss stab Whitley without provocation in front of several respected witnesses. Even if it wasn't morally reprehensible, it was just a dumb plan for an assassination.

Unfortunately, Winter was not nearly experienced enough with mystical matters to have even the slightest idea of how to combat this threat. The general, her implacable rock, the man she wished had been her father, was gone, caught completely off-guard. She would never succeed in saving her siblings and her kingdom alone in such circumstances. However, she was not alone. That is if she could trust him.

But she didn't have much of a choice. After all, at the very worst, he was the least untrustworthy.

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'We'll need to move quickly. Our enemies are not stupid.'

"I beg to differ on that account."

'Push Winter or Gray into a corner without proper preparation, and they'll freeze over the entire kingdom to free Weiss. We need to consolidate our gains and secure the maiden before they have time to formulate a response.'

"My puppets are getting into position. How about yours?"

'Eleanor has enough information to play her part. All eyes will be exactly where we need them to be.'

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"Again, thank you so much for this, sir."

Clover waved Marrow off. "I told you, don't worry about it."

The dog faunus shrunk back into the shotgun seat of Clover's car, looking all too embarrassed. His team leader playfully rolled his eyes.

The Ace Ops weren't friends in the traditional sense. They were a team because they were the best, not the best because they were a team. Harriet especially did her best to keep things strictly professional.

But Clover was the leader. It was his job to keep things running smoothly, and that meant making sure the others all knew they could come to him with any problems they had. Unless they'd done something really stupid, at which point he would report them for court-martial and act as a character witness that whatever had occurred was just a mistake, one that their years of decorated service could allow to be overlooked.

Marrow's car breaking down and him needing a ride into work was not nearly so bad. You know, terrible circumstances of the day not taken into account.

"So… what's our next move?" the dog faunus shyly inquired. "With the general gone, what do we do about Salem? Amity Tower? The Winter Maiden?"

Clover sighed. "For now, nothing. We need to contain the current problem first. Commander Schnee will give us our orders regarding the bigger picture as soon as she's decided on a course of action."

"Are you sure she's up for it?" Marrow asked, their car sliding from a crawl to complete stop behind a hauler truck. "Not that I don't trust Winter, but everything that just happened with her family, and what people are saying about her sister—"

"If she needs support, we'll give it to her," Clover replied. "We do our jobs, and we keep the kingdom safe. Whatever it takes."

Marrow nodded. "Whatever it takes." The dog faunus glanced out the window. "Is there normally this much traffic around here?"

Clover shrugged. "Don't know. I never really hit traffic."

"What do you mean you never…" Marrow's face fell. "With all due respect sir, your semblance is bullshit."

"It is rather useful," Clover grinned.

Unfortunately, it only took a minute of barely making any progress on the road for Clover to realize something was up. He knew that his semblance wasn't a catch-all to all of life's problems, he'd still had to train to be huntsman and good luck wouldn't kill every Grimm on the planet if all he did was stand still in their general area. But it generally took care of small things. He'd never stubbed a toe, he'd never been gotten a toy he didn't like from a claw machine, and he never hit traffic. Now, he and Marrow were suddenly moving slower than a snail when they were supposed to be at the Specialist Barracks in half an hour?

His state-issued scroll buzzed off, the caller ID reading Harriet. But as soon as he reached for the device, it fizzled and died in a burst of sparks.

"What the heck?" Marrow muttered. "What was that?"

"Call Harriet," Clover ordered. "Or Elm, or Vine, any of them."

Like the expert soldier he was, Marrow got his scroll out immediately. And just like Clover's, it shorted out immediately.

"Okay, I just had logistics go over this thing two weeks ago," the dog faunus said. "What's going on?"

Clover scowled. He tossed his scroll to Marrow. "Take them apart. Look for sabotage."

The dog faunus nodded and got to work. Meanwhile, Clover tugged the car to the side, looking for any opportunity to get out of the cramped road. Maybe he could find a side street, or even just pull over to the sidewalk.

As he feared, there was nothing, every possible opening filled by a car or truck. Clover hoped it was just a coincidence, that it really was sabotage that had stalled Marrow's car and broken their scrolls. Because otherwise, it was his semblance giving him the good luck of doing everything in its power to keep him out of contact with and away from the Specialist Barracks.

Which was a problem when the rest of his team, and most of the corps, was already there.

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"Ow." Gray groaned, white light pouring into his vision.

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, eventually coming to recognize that he was in one of the sterile Atlas hospitals he'd heard so much about. It was a lot less homely than Porlyusica's hut or the guild's infirmary, but he couldn't deny it was getting the job done. He sat up in his bed, tearing off the clutter of wires and tubes attached to his body.

"Woah, slow down there, hotshot. You just got blown up. Take a second to get yourself together."

Gray's eyes flickered to his bedside, Ana Tremaine, of all people, sat at his bedside, setting a syringe on the nearby table.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded. "Where's Weiss?"

"Winter wanted someone who wasn't Intelligence to watch over you and the Ace Ops were either dealing with the fallout all night or on their way to relieve the rest who had been working all night," Ana explained, though her face turned sour right after. "As for Weiss… last I heard, Glacial Cliffs Military Prison."

"What?! Why?!"

"She's a huntress-in-training. A regular jail couldn't hold her—"

"No! I mean why is she in prison?!" Gray roared. He leapt to his feet, pushing through the spout of dizziness that instantly fell over him. He reached his hand onto the wall to steady himself.

"Again, you just got blown up," Ana repeated. "And Weiss is in prison because she stabbed her brother right after said blowing up. And if the news is correct, also caused said blowing up."

"They're saying what!?" Gray exclaimed. "That's bullshit!"

"On that at least, we agree."

Both of them whirled around to the door of the room. Ana shot to her feet and saluted. "Winter! Ma'am!"

The elder Schnee marched into the suite. She stared at Gray as if he was a particularly unpleasant gnat that had buzzed onto her hand.

"Specialist Tremaine," she spoke, her eyes never leaving the ice wizard. "Report."

"Yes, commander!" Ana said. "As expected, Intelligence attempted to retrieve their agent, but I was able to call in a favor with Agent Tremaine to get him in our custody for the next twelve hours. I've swept the room and surrounding halls three times. There are no hidden cameras or listening devices."

"Very good," Winter replied. "Please keep watch outside. I need to have a few words with Agent Fullbuster in private."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Ana proceeded to do just that, leaving the room and shutting the thick door behind her, a prompt action that left Gray even more worried. What little he'd seen of the redhead had made her seem like a more haunted version of Cana. If she was acting so serious…

"Weiss wouldn't try to kill her brother," he said. "Someone's manipulating this behind the scenes."

"Oh really?" Winter replied, never removing her glare. "And what makes you say that?"

"She's my friend! I know her! She wouldn't do something like this," Gray's eyes narrowed at the specialist. "How could you think she ever would?"

"I don't. I have no doubt that someone is framing Weiss," Winter said. "What I want to know, is why you think that. And whose side you're really on."

"You think I had something to do with this?!"

"I know you were the one who introduced Weiss to Atlas Intelligence and the one who asked me to look into Godmother's Haven. And that Weiss claimed she had no control of her body when she stabbed Whitley. Now, there might be a semblance out there that could do that, but none of the witnesses possessed one. But if they were to have some sort of magic, then no one would know."

That pricked something in the back of Gray's head, something from when Weiss had told him about Salem. And her minions.

"There are magics that can take control of people's bodies," he muttered, working through himself as much as he was explaining it to Winter. "But they all require special tools. Tools that I doubt would exist here. And even then, I've spent enough time around them to be able to sense them. They're not exactly subtle with their magic energy. But… no. That's impossible."

Winter raised an eyebrow. "What is?"

"Salem's inner circle," Gray said. "Weiss said they're called her Gates, right?"

Winter nodded. "That's what the general told me."

Gray's frown grew. "I've known two different groups who go by that name. One would never do something like this, but the other was made up of the most powerful demons to ever live, each wielding a powerful curse."

"And you think these demons are involved?" Winter inquired.

"No, they're all dead," Gray shook his head. "But they were all connected to these books. They could be sealed inside them, have their essences changed through being rewritten…"

"Destroyed?"

"Yeah. We killed the demons, but we never found the books. We always just assumed that the connection worked both ways and they were destroyed," Gray's brow furrowed. "But we met a friend later, the same person who made the book that Team RWBY used to get back and forth from Earthland. She'd been studying Zeref's creations. She never mentioned if she had the rest of Tartaros' books but it's possible. And if they ended up here somehow—"

"Then those same curses could be in Salem's hands," Winter finished. "You do realize you have no proof of this."

Gray sighed, pushing himself off the wall to stand at his full height and looking the Specialist Commander straight in the eye. "Look, you don't trust me. You have no reason to trust me beyond Weiss' word, and people have obviously been manipulating her lately. All I can do is give you my word that I haven't been one of them."

"You just said I have no reason to trust you," Winter pointed out. "Why should I believe your word?"

Gray cringed. "Because I'm her friend. And it's my fault she's in this mess."

He'd come to her with Intelligence's offer. He hadn't trusted them, but he'd done it anyway, desperate to get to a familiar face after over a year alone in a foreign world. He couldn't bear the isolation, away from Juvia, Natsu, Erza, and the rest of Fairy Tail, not even knowing if he had anyway home. He'd gone to Weiss for help, even suggested that they leave outright. But it didn't matter what he'd said because just the fact that the offer had come through him had made her trust it more, just COMMAND had probably planned. She'd jumped into the lion's den because he'd held open the door.

Now, he had to get her out of it. And step one was getting her older sister to work with him. Winter had the knowledge to navigate Atlas' political landscape and he had the right magic to take care of Salem's demons once they found them. They needed each other.

Winter stared at him for a few tense moments, her hand on the hilt of her sword. At last, she sighed and let go of her weapon. "I believe you."

"Really?" Gray said. "I was expecting to have to argue a bit more before I convinced you."

"I've seen guilt on my own face in the mirror enough times to recognize it on someone else. And unlike the rest of Intelligence, you haven't had enough espionage training to fake it," Winter replied, rubbing her hand across her forehead. "At least, I hope."

Gray decided it was in his favor to not mention his successful year-long infiltration of Avatar.

"Thank you," he said. He strode over to one of the nearby tables and snatched up some cloths Ana must have laid out for him. "So, you've been out in the world more than I have? What's our next move?"

"For now, there's little we can," Winter informed him. "The council is in session, but once they're out, it will be up to us to root out whatever influence Salem has over Atlas Intelligence. With any luck, I'll be promoted to General Ironwood's position and be able to keep his files secure. Even with the dust embargo lifted, we might be able to continue a… a certain project of his and use it to draw out these Gates."

Gray raised an eyebrow. "You've got to give me more than that. I get keeping your superior's secrets safe, but how is this 'project' going to help us prove Weiss' innocence?"

"Because its end goal is revealing Salem's existence to the public."

Gray's eyes widened. "Oh. That could work. We could tell them about magic and curses and explain what happened."

"That was my line of thinking," Winter said. "There will be consequences, panic in the streets. But the general had already begun recalling our forces back to the kingdom to fortify for just such an event. But if we can use the knowledge of Intelligence's connection to Salem to at least discredit them, we can take control of the investigation and prove that this curse was in control of Weiss when she stabbed Whitley."

Gray grinned. "It's a start. Though… now that I think about it, what's Intelligence's plan?"

Winter raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? They've killed my father and the general, two of the biggest obstacles to their influence in the kingdom—"

"But not the biggest," Gray pointed out. "Chairwoman Rosenflos is as beloved as ever, and they shot Weiss' chances of rivaling her in the foot themselves. Even if they realized that Weiss wasn't going to play ball anymore after Taurus and decided to use her as the fall guy for Ironwood and Jacques' assassinations, how does that get rid of Esper?"

"I… don't know," Winter muttered. "The Gates, what other curses might they have at their disposal?"

"Um… it's been a while," Gray said, counting off on his fingers. "But I think explosions, natural disasters, giant thorns, Bane Particle clouds, necromancy—"

"Wait!" Winter cut in, suddenly panicked. "Bane Particles?"

"Yeah, they're this poison, extremely deadly, almost impossible to cure—"

"I know what they are," Winter said. "Intelligence uses them. A large amount was detected at Polendina Labs the night Weiss fought Adam Taurus."

Gray smacked his hand into his face. If Salem had access to Tartaros' curses and Intelligence had Bane Particles, that was the proof of their connection. "It was a distraction. Etherious are made of Bane Particles. And if one of them was at the lab… what did they take? What were they really after that night?"

"Dr. Pietro is going over that as we speak. Nothing appears to have been taken, but it was a direct line into Atlas' main systems. They could have done anything—"

The door to the room slammed open before Winter could finish. A frazzled redheaded specialist stormed in and made a beeline for the bedside table.

"Ana, I told you to wait outside—"

"Turn on Channel Three! Now!" the Tremaine shouted back. She herself had already located the remote and flipped on the room's television.

Winter and Gray's eyes widened.

"That's… that's not possible," Winter muttered. "He's gone and even if he wasn't… he would never do that!"

"We can worry about that later," Gray said, already rushing for the door. "We have to get down there, now!"

Winter and Ana whipped around and joined in his mad dash, the news headline flying over the television.

General Ironwood and Specialists barge into Council Meeting!

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Harriet Bree may have been a huntress, but she was a soldier first. She graduated top of her class from Atlas Academy, and immediately joined the kingdom's military, swiftly rising through the ranks until she was recruited into the Ace Ops, General Ironwood's personal squad. She was the best of the best, and she would never dream of using her hard-earned skills to be some glorified mercenary. She would follow her commander's orders until the very end and ensure that they brought true good into the world. Being told about Salem and the true danger afoot just meant that her job was even more important.

Which was why she alone among the team seemed to be able to keep their heads on straight during this mission.

"Is this legal?" Vine quietly queried as the team, minus Clover and Marrow but with the addition of scores of others, strode down the halls of the council building. Every few yards, a team of other less skilled specialists broke off and secured the area.

Harriet rolled her eyes. A small portion of the rest of the corps had asked that same question and refused to come on this mission. They'd been left behind at the barracks under the guard of Knights and Paladins. "You've read the guidelines more than any of us. You know it is."

"If the general declares martial law."

"Which he will once we break up this meeting. Which we will only need to do if they vote to lift the embargo."

"Which we are here to intimidate them into not doing. Not exactly democratic."

Harriet shrugged, another squad splitting off to escort some attendants away. "If democracy opens the gates for Salem, we're better off without it."

"People can complain about this all they want later, once we've saved them from the Grimm apocalypse," Elm said, Timber secure on her back. Her confidence wavered a moment later and she glanced at Harriet. "Any word from Clover or Marrow?"

Harriet shook her head. The three of them were on duty at the barracks, having spent the night handling the fallout from Schnee Manor, when the orders came down. Clover and Marrow had been supposed to come and relieve them, but they'd never shown, or responded when Harriet had attempted to contact them. Eventually, they'd had to set out without them.

Orders were orders, and they weren't school kids waiting for the line leader. Teacher was already leading the way.

"Cut the chatter back there," General Ironwood commanded. Despite having been at the center of an explosion the previous day and declared dead not a few hours ago, the Commander-in-Chief of Atlas barely looked worse for wear. The only signs of what he'd been through were that his beard had been singed off and the upper left side of his face was now marred with burn marks. "It's showtime."

At last, their party reduced to just the general and the three Ace Ops, they reached the doors to the council chambers. Four Atlesian Knights blocked the way, but the moment they visual sensors laid eyes on the general, their visual visors flashed red and they made to open the doors.

"Shouldn't they take our weapons? I thought these were Council Units," Vine noted. "Why do they recognize military authority?"

The general chuckled, his laugh as warm as Harriet remembered. "I do have two seats on the council, Vine."

Elm nudged the thin man, a small smile on her face. "Guess you shouldn't shove so many books in that big brain of yours after all. You're forgetting the real world."

Vine didn't look like he was going to laugh at the comment, but it didn't matter either way. The council doors swung wide open and they marched inside.

The Council Chambers, the center of Atlas Government, were as functional as the rest of the kingdom's architecture. Built when the government had moved from Mantle, it had an air of grandness about it, meant as the dawn of a new era. Stain glass windows depicting iconic scenes from the kingdom's history lined the walls. Marble column and deep blue carpets surround rows and rows of polished wooden pews, meant for observers, stenographers, or reporters when a meeting was open to the public. Currently, they were all occupied, the news cameras swinging towards the approaching soldiers while the dozens of Atlesian Knights guarding the chamber raised their rifles.

At the center of it all, straight down the center aisle, was the high table. Carved from the finest oaks in Forever Fall, the King of Vale had 'generously' gifted one such grand table to each of the councils he had forcibly established with the Vytal Treaty. It was made in a perfect circle, meant to symbolize the members' equal status with each other, though the Chairman's seat was the one that sat directly in front of the door. And as of current, the only one whose occupant had not turned towards the new arrivals.

"Motion thirty-nine-dash-B7, to lift the current dust embargo of the kingdom has passed," Madam Rosenflos declared, shuffling through the series of documents before her. "Now moving on to Motion thirty-nine-dash-B7, to allow for non-council permitted movement through the Kingdom of Atlas' borders."

"You can put me down for nay," General Ironwood proclaimed, marching up to the dais. The Ace Ops stood at attention at the base, their weapons in plain sight. "Two of them."

Rosenflos' head shot up, her eyes widening as soon as she recognized the general. A wide smile, almost childlike, blossomed across her face. "James? You're alive!"

"But how?" Councilman Sleet, an older man who'd been on the council longer than Harriet had been alive, muttered. "The hospital said—"

"Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated," General Ironwood informed them as he had them. "With the recent attempt on my life, I thought it would be prudent not to expose myself until this meeting."

"Paranoid as usual, I see," Councilwoman Camilla, a stout, dark-skinned woman said.

The general frowned. He pointed to the burnt skin on his face. "This was not caused by paranoia."

"Regardless, you are as of now, legally dead," Camilla noted. "And a ghost cannot hold a seat on this council. Or command our military."

To either side her, Harriet caught Elm and Vine bristle. Despite how unprofessional it was, she couldn't keep her own eyes from narrowing. How dare this arrogant sow dismiss the general like that? He had fought and bled for this kingdom, while all she'd done was convince some drunks down in Mantle to vote for her.

"Camilla, please. Such semantics are beneath us. This is a miracle," Madam Rosenflos waved down. "Take a seat, James."

The general smiled, but he didn't take a seat. "With pleasure. As soon as we return to the previous item on the docket."

Rosenflos cringed. Harriet felt sympathy for Chairwoman. She knew exactly what was coming.

"We have a great deal of business to cover, James," Councilman Sleet said. "If you wanted to vote on your asinine embargo, you should have gotten here on time instead of playing parlor tricks."

"Councilman Sleet," Rosenflos said, her eyes flickering towards the Ace Ops and their weapons. "Perhaps we should endeavor to keep a more civil tone."

Councilman Sleet glared at the general, but he took a deep breath. "Yes. Yes, you are correct, Madam Chairwoman. General, I apologize for my outburst. This day has been a tiring one."

"I am well aware of that, Councilman," the general replied.

"Well then, take a seat then, general," Councilwoman Camilla said, implicitly retracting her earlier insult. She sent a worried glance towards the Ace Ops. "We can continue as soon as your men leave the room."

"We can continue from the embargo vote. Now," General Ironwood challenged.

"James," Madam Rosenflos said. "Your soldiers have every right to obverse the council's proceedings. But they must leave their weapons outside."

"They are necessary for security purposes."

"We are in the heart of the kingdom!" Councilman Sleet protested, jumping to his feet. "This isn't security! This is intimidation!"

"Councilman, restrain yourself!" Rosenflos commanded, Sleet instantly going silently. She turned her glare on the general. "James, have your men relinquish their weapons. Now."

"Will we return to the embargo vote?"

"No. That vote has concluded."

"Then you have my apologies, Esper," the general said. He stood to his full height, towering over the rest. "In light of the recent string attacks on this kingdom, I am declaring martial law."

Harriet sighed, the frantic murmurings of the reporters and observers humming through her ears from behind. She had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but if it was necessary, then they would do what must be done.

Unfortunately, the politicians didn't see it that way.

"Outrageous!" Sleet yelled.

"Tyrant!" Camilla screamed.

"Silence!" Madam Rosenflos commanded. And just like that, the thrum of panic ceased. There was still a palpable tension in the air, a barrel of fire dust just waiting for a spark, but the civilians had stopped spasming about it. Harriet begrudgingly conceded the Chairwoman's aura of command was quite impressive. Her time in the specialists had served her well.

Now that the ants had stopped their crawling, the two giants, Ironwood and Rosenflos, stared each other down.

"James, the events of yesterday were a tragedy, an act of terrorism that shall forever be remembered as a black day in our kingdom's history," the Council Chairwoman calmly stated. "But it is not nearly enough grounds for martial law, especially when there is already a suspect in custody."

"And yet, I am declaring it," the general proclaimed.

"You cannot," she repeated.

For a long moment, the two huntsmen stared at each other, each with a will of iron, neither budging an inch. At last, the general spoke once more.

"Ace Ops. Take the council into custody."

Harriet nodded, Fast Knuckles deploying along her arms as her semblance sparked across her body. Elm drew Timber while Vine reluctantly summoned up the golden glow of his semblance arms. Their job wasn't always easy, but for the good of the kingdom, for humanity as a whole, they could not allow Salem to learn of the Amity Project, no matter what.

Madam Rosenflos didn't see it that way. "So, it's treason then. Guards!"

The Atlesian Knights surrounding the chamber marched forward, their rifles drawn and ready. Harriet scoffed. She could take down squads of these robots on her own. A few dozen against half the Ace Ops and the general? When Rosenflos was unarmed? This wouldn't take long. They would have the council in custody and get the martial law administration set up in the blink of an eye—

The visors of the Atlesian Knights turned red. The robots pivoted and their guns were no longer aimed at the Ace Ops.

"What in the world—" Councilwoman Camilla shouted.

Rosenflos was quicker. The moment she saw the Knights turn, she kicked the high table, launching the massive structure upright to act as a shield just as the robots opened fire, snatching the other council members by the arm and dragging them to safety. The reporters and observers screamed, the crowd making a mad dash for the door, unaware of the specialists on the other side occupying the building. Harriet, to her shame, was too shocked by the Council Units suddenly turning on their masters to act for a second, her teammates just as stunned.

General Ironwood was not so. He raised his white revolver, Due Process, and fired six shots straight through the wooden shield. A short howl of agony sounded from behind the barrier.

"Sir!" Vine protested.

"Move in," Ironwood commanded. "Take them."

Harriet's soldier's instincts kicked in. Her semblance flared up and she dashed around the flank, ducking under the Knights fire. Elm charged straight on, Timber raised to smash right through the high table.

However, just as the large huntress was mid-step, unable to anchor in with her semblance, the table was launched out towards her. The experienced soldier battered the wooden mess aside easily, but Rosenflos, carrying Camilla on her back, dashed through the splinters and rushed under the hammer swing.

Harriet glanced where they had been and instantly found her answer for why the Chairwoman hadn't tried to carry Sleet out. The general's shots had found their mark.

It was a tragedy. But a smaller one than would occur if Salem came for Atlas. They needed to finish this now, preferably before anyone else got killed.

Rosenflos and Camilla made for the door, but Vine obstructed their path, extending his ghostly semblance arms to keep them from going around.

"Madam Chairwoman," he said. "Please surrender. You will not be harmed."

Harriet zipped in front of her teammate, at the ready to deal with any tricks Rosenflos might try. The golden-eyed woman glanced back at Sleet's body as the general and Elm brought up the rear. She extended her arm to shield the cowering Camilla, the Council Knights, somehow on their side, circled the lot of them.

"Forgive me, specialist," she replied, dropping into a fighting stance. "But I don't place much stock in your word right now."

"Doesn't look like you have much of a choice," Harriet noted, readying Fast Knuckles for a brawl. "You're unarmed, outnumbered, and your semblance is useless without a blade."

"Yup," Rosenflos concurred, glaring daggers at them all. "Which means I might actually break a sweat."

Vine sighed, but Harriet didn't waste the breath. Neither did Elm or the general, merely raising their weapons. It didn't matter if others didn't understand, or even if they hated them. Their job was to make sure someone was around to hate them later. If that meant making the hard choices, so be it.

Suddenly, one of the stain glass windows hanging above the room shattered. Harriet glanced over to the sound, only for her eyes to widen when a massive cat made out of fire charged out of the scattered shards, the familiar figure of Eleanor Tremaine right behind it, guns drawn.

"Lucifer!" she shouted. "Protect the council!"

Harriet scowled, taking the barest fraction of a second to confirm Elm had already pivoted to handle the new threat, Timber shifting into its rocket launcher form to blow the Intelligence Agent away. She immediately turned back to watching the two councilwomen, only for her eyes to widen as Drizzella Tremaine rose up from Camilla's shadow, her pistols taking aim at the Ace Ops. She didn't even have the time to be surprised before she was shoved hard to the side, Rosenflos racing for Vine and punching him square in the face.

The huntress scowled. What the hell were Intelligence doing here? Even if they'd seen the news broadcast when the corps had entered the council building, they hadn't had near enough time to make it all the way here. Had they already been on their way? Why?

No, it didn't matter. They had a job to do. The Tremaines showing up was a complication, but not an insurmountable one. Combined with Rosenflos, who the Intelligence Agents would have no coordination with, it was still three huntsmen against four, plus the Atlesian Knights. As long as the general was with them, they still had this well in hand.

Which was her thought right before General Ironwood's body went completely limp. The titanic giant of a man, so full of indomitable will only a minute before, tumbled to the ground, dead. And Harriet couldn't for the life of her figure out why.

She didn't have much time to wonder either. She rushed in to engage Drizzella Tremaine, the Atlesian Knights turning their rifles on the center of the battle.

It was only as the bullets raked her aura to shreds and Drizzella fired three rounds rapid into her unprotected chest, that she realized the robots' visors had gone back to normal.

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"No, no, no, no, no…"

Pietro Polendina was usually a calm man. He found that despite the little things in life that rubbed him the wrong way, the setbacks and disappointments, there was just too much wonder in the world to get upset about all the other stuff. He had brought a life into the world! A beautiful, sweet little girl with a heart bigger than all of Remnant! Yes, she'd gotten grievously hurt during the Fall of Beacon, but that hadn't stopped them! He'd rebuilt his girl better than ever using his own methods, and from data he'd gleaned from the Relic of Creation. After her birth the first time had released a massive reaction of what he'd later learned was magic, General Ironwood had been incredibly eager to see how he could improve her. How she could better protect the world against the shadowy enemies that were lurking just out of sight.

But then those enemies had infiltrated their city, and the general had been murdered, then risen from the dead to attempt a coup against the Council. Now, staring at what exactly the Intelligence intruder had planted in his systems that night, Pietro was finding it very hard to remain calm.

"This virus," he muttered. "It's just like the one at Beacon. But more advanced."

"I'm so glad you noticed. I put an awful lot of work into it."

Pietro's chair whirled around, his eyes widening as a cloud of black smoke churned before him. If possible, they became even larger when the smog manifested into a very familiar figure.

"Arthur," he murmured, his old colleague, his supposedly dead colleague, standing before him. The coding patterns of the virus, so skillful, so elegant, so perfectly crafted to subvert Atlas technology, suddenly made far too much sense. "How?"

Arthur smirked, that arrogant expression he donned so casually and so often. "How, what, you oaf? How did I survive the Paladin Incident? Through my wits, of course. How did I get my virus past your defenses? I must admit, you had some modicum of skill in that regard. I had to insert it directly from your own terminal. How do I appear before you out of thin air? Well, that is the most interesting answer of all. Suffice to say…"

The smarmy scientist dissolved into gas and darted forward, manifesting solid once more and shoving his face into Pietro's with a manic grin. "There is far more to this world than your minuscule mind could ever begin to conceive."

Doctor Polendina would not deny that he was sweating under the situation. He was not a man of violence. He'd never liked hurting people, and stress wasn't something he particularly thrived under. But he was an intelligent man, and that intelligence had not failed him yet, allowing him to quickly analyze the abysmal situation he'd found himself in.

One, Arthur Watts was alive and working with the terrorist forces of the Queen of the Grimm. They had infiltrated Atlas Intelligence and murdered General Ironwood. then used some black magic to raise him from the dead to turn the council and the military against each other.

Two, he had infected Atlas' central systems with an upgraded version of the Black Queen Virus used at the Vytal Festival. He likely had complete control of all the kingdom's main cyber operations and full knowledge of Pietro's files (barring his private ones on his daughter), including the Amity Project.

Three, due to the sprawling chaos caused by the first two points… no one was coming to help him. All except one.

But Arthur wasn't the middling combatant he'd once known. If he was, the defensive systems Pietro had installed in his chair would be more than enough to handle him. But his transformation, the Bane Particles he'd left behind, he was no longer even human. He was a monster.

And what father asked his daughter to face a monster just to save his own skin?

Pietro's hand typed a quick message on the computer installed in the arm of his chair. Arthur smirked and drew his revolver, the chair's automated lasers unloading to defend their creator. It was not enough.

Before long, the good doctor plummeted to the ground, his chair a pile of scrap beside him, his last message flickering across its screen.

Atlas Government compromised. Find your friends.

Love,

Father.

Fortunately, the words were erased from the sender's log before Arthur could see them. He never was one for the finer details when there was gloating to be done.

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Fria couldn't remember the last time she was awoken by such noise. That nice girl that would come to visit her so often, she was always so quiet, so professional. The general had taught her well, that Wi… that Win…

Oh, dear. She was sure she'd known her name. She was so kind.

There was a great deal of noise echoing out from the hall, some sort of tussle if she wasn't mistaken. Perhaps she should get involved?

No. She had a mission, a duty. She was to protect the Winter Maiden's power. Protect it until it was time to pass it on. Besides, with her frail old bones, she wouldn't be much use in a fight anyway, not unless she wanted to freeze the people she was trying to help as well.

They'd be alright. And if they weren't, they were just robots after all.

Little Jimmy… he did love his robots.

At last, the noise stopped. A moment later, the door opened.

It wasn't Win… the white-haired girl. This woman had no hair, none that could be seen behind her black hood. She wore a dim gray uniform, a silver medal over her breast. And a familiar mask bearing the kingdom's symbol, a staff Fria knew all too well.

"COMMAND?" Fria whispered, cocking her head to the side. "COMMAND THV?"

No, wait… had her commanding officer been a woman?

The one wearing Intelligence's prized mask shook her head. "I'm sorry, Special Agent Thorston. Your COMMAND passed decades ago."

"Did he?" Fria muttered, glancing down at her hands. "I guess my memory… isn't as good as it used to be."

The woman, the new COMMAND, walked over and took a seat on her bed. She gently clasped the Winter Maiden's hands in her own. "You have lived a long and kind life, Special Agent Thorston. Saved countless lives. You have done your duty well. Now, I need you to do it one last time."

"My… duty…" Fria said. She suddenly found she couldn't move her body. Perhaps her old muscles had given out on her at last. She looked up to the masked woman, the symbol of Atlas staring her in the face.

Strange. It had never looked so… kind before.

"I have a duty," she repeated. "Are you the one it is to pass on to?"

The woman nodded. "For now. I have no desire for the power, but I will carry it until it can be brought to someone more suitable."

"So… you carry it out of duty as well." Fria chuckled. She took a deep breath and readied herself for what she knew was coming. "I'm ready."

The new COMMAND raised her hand, the palm facing Fria. "You are a true huntress, Special Agent Thorston. Thank you for your service and your sacrifice. I will try to make this as painless as possible."

The woman's black glove split in two and a strange Grimm beetle crawled out from beneath the fabric and the flesh under it.

Fria didn't have the time to think anything else before the insect spewed a glob of black webbing over her face and everything went dark.

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The scene Winter discovered upon entering the Council Chambers was that of a nightmare.

First, there were the specialists positioned throughout the main building, detaining any civilians that had been present before the disaster and containing those that fled the chamber. No one was injured, thank goodness, but it was not a good look for the corps. When Winter, Gray, and Ana had stormed inside and commanded them to release them, they had all politely declined. Orders from the general could not be overturned, even by her.

Before, she would have praised her men for their loyalty and devotion to the general and the chain of command. Now, she found it utterly infuriating.

Fortunately, or perhaps not so, they had enough faith in her that they did not question her when she lied that they had been ordered into the main chambers to assist. Her party was let through and they raced inside, praying they were not too late.

They were. They were far, far too late.

General Ironwood and Harriet, Elm, and Vine of the Ace Ops all laid dead on the floor of Atlas' center of government, surrounded by the charred metal corpses of dozens of Atlesian Knights. The pews were scattered across the carpet, small brushfires sputtering all around the hall. And at the center of it all, Eleanor and Esper squared off, Drizzella shielding Councilwoman Camilla off to the side.

"Esper!" Winter shouted, terrified for her mentor.

To her horror, both the Chairwoman and the Intelligence Agents whirled around and glared bloody murder at her. Eleanor pivoted so that she was between Esper and the newcomers, raising her gun and summoning Lucifer to her side.

Winter and Gray froze in their tracks, both of them knowledgeable enough to know fighting in full view of the few reporters who cowered in the corners of the room would not help their case. Fortunately, Ana was mindful enough to jump in front of them, her mother's trigger finger hesitating just a moment.

"We're not a part of this!" Ana proclaimed. "We just got here! We came to help!"

"Help who?" Eleanor demanded.

"Did you know about this, Winter?!" Esper demanded, her hand twitching at her side.

"No!" Winter insisted.

"She wasn't anywhere near here!" Gray yelled. "She thought Ironwood was dead!"

"Who the hell are you?!" Esper shouted.

Eleanor lowered her pistol. "He's one of ours, Agent Gray Fullbuster. You can trust him."

"I don't know if I trust you!" Esper retorted. "You've made no secrets of your disdain for me."

"Madam Rosenflos," Councilwoman Camilla spoke up, staggering out from behind Drizzella. "They just saved our lives!"

"No, it is a reasonable suspicion. I don't like you and Intelligence has been compromised," Eleanor said. She glanced towards Gray. "COMMAND ESR ordered us to secure dust from the SDC surplus compound the night of Weiss' battle with Adam Taurus. When our official report to the general made no mention of it, I became suspicious, even more so when the Schnee Manor was destroyed last night."

Winter's heart soared. "So it wasn't Weiss!"

"Possibly. I don't know if your sister was involved or not," Eleanor replied, crushing those dreams all at once. "COMMAND specifically sought out to recruit her. Perhaps it was for her help getting the bomb inside."

"Weiss would never do that!" Gray shouted.

"Like I said, I do not know. This conspiracy runs deeps," Eleanor glanced at General Ironwood's body. "And it does not appear to be the only one."

"Enough!" Esper roared, silencing any further argument. Her gaze was softer now upon Winter, no longer believing she helped try to kill her. But she was still tense, as anyone would be after an assassination attempt on their life. Her eyes flickered between all present, including the reporters, at last taking a deep breath. "We all have a great deal to discuss, but this is not the place."

She steeled herself and strode forward, all attention in the ruined chamber drawn onto her. The skittish woman who'd just brushed with death disappeared, replaced by the giant of a statesman she was.

"Councilwoman Camilla," she said. "I understand what you must be feeling right now, but I need to know. Does your vote for Special Motion Sixty-Six SW still stand?"

"Sixt—" Camilla's eyes widened. She glanced towards the corpse of Councilman Sleet. She scowled and gave a firm nod. "Yes. You have my full support, Madam Rosenflos, as I'm sure you would have Sleet's."

Esper nodded. She took one more deep breath and held her head high. To the cameras, she must have looked like a goddess returned from a quest to the underworld.

"Then by the authority invested in me by this council and the united peoples of Atlas and Mantle, it is with great reluctance that I declare this kingdom to be in a state of crisis and accept full emergency powers," she declared. "For the duration of this crisis, all branches of civilian and military authority will report to me. To this kingdom's loyal citizens, I promise that the chaos of the last few days stops here."

She paused, her expression shifting from one of comfort to pure, undiluted wrath. "To the terrorists and traitors behind these tragedies, know that I am coming for you. As my first act with this new authority, I am issuing an arrest warrant for every traitor involved in today's coup attempt. Including COMMAND ESR."

So, the bad guys know enough not to give the heroes a second to get their bearings or they'll lose the momentum. They delayed only a day, and still, the good guys (slightly better guys? Eleanor is hardly a traditional hero) were able to prevent zombie Ironwood from usurping the council. They would have had Atlas in their grasp, but they'll have to settle for the consolation prize of the Winter Maiden.

But, they've awoken Esper to action. Emergency powers don't have the best reputation in fiction (for good reason, looking at you Hitler and Palpatine), but if Esper has an unrestricted hand, Winter and Gray have an unrestricted hand. And that means as soon as they have the slightest proof of magic, they can use their knowledge of the Macro Curse as the public explanation for Weiss stabbing Whitley and get her out of prison.

The chase is on. But without Pietro to even begin to counter Watts, how soon will the heroes be able to track down their enemies?

Please feel free to check out the TvTropes Page! As a first for one of my stories, it has an Awesome Moments page, so don't let it be incomplete. Head on over and add any trope or awesome moment you see to the list!

An extra huge thank you to my patrons: ArcherMcMuffin, Gregg Tracton, Keith Traction, Annaya Chan, Nora Okonus, Paula mandel, KefkaesqueXIII, Christian Howard, SanyaBane, and Matthew Blevins.

Thank you for Reading! I hope you enjoy what comes next!

Go Forth and Conquer!